(Reuters) -Third seed Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati Open final.
The Pole had her hands full in the early stages of the 98-minute match but took advantage of a sudden dip in Rybakina’s form to win four consecutive games and wrap up the first set before easing through the second.
“That was a tough match. At the beginning the level was pretty crazy, we played so fast that sometimes we couldn’t even run to the second ball because we played so fast,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview.
“But I was there to play with intensity and good quality and I am super happy with the performance. I served much better so for sure it helped and I wouldn’t change anything.”
Ninth seed Rybakina used a cross-court forehand that caught the line for a break and then held for a 5-3 lead in the first set but a laser-focused Swiatek came back from the precipice and attacked the Kazakh’s serve to draw level at 5-5.
From there, the Wimbledon champion held serve before wrapping up the opener when she broke for a second time after a Rybakina backhand attempt came up well short.
Rybakina, who enjoyed a swift victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, was broken for a third time early in the second set after a backhand error put Swiatek ahead 3-1.
Swiatek faced some push-back from Rybakina three games later but dug deep to recover from 15-40 down to protect her serve and reach 5-2 before wrapping it up on serve when Rybakina sent a forehand return long.
Swiatek, who has not lost a set in Cincinnati, will next face the winner of Sunday’s other semi-final between seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and Veronika Kudermetova.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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